Again, not about everything at once, but specifically about engravings ukiyo-e. beautiful word, but what does it mean? We respect special sites. For example, encyclopedia of Japan from, A to Z
- and find out that:

woodcut technique, or printing from wooden boards, appeared in Japan in the Heian period (794−1185) along with the advent of Buddhism. Beginning of the 17th century characterized by the appearance of illustrated woodcut books, published in mass editions. In these editions, text and illustrations were printed in black.

The first easel engravings were also black and white, then they began to be slightly tinted by hand with cinnabar (tan-e), later the engravings were tinted with dark red paint (beni-e) or shaded with black dense paint, which created the effect of black varnish (urushi- e).

The first prints using red (benizuri-e) appeared in mid-eighteenth in. Gradually, the number of boards for color printing increased, and in 1765 the first multi-color engravings appeared, which were called “brocade paintings” (nishiki-e).

Ukiyo-e(which literally translated from Japanese means “pictures of the mortal world”) absorbed philosophical contemplation and emotional fullness of admiring the fullness of mortal existence.

In technical terms, the art of ukiyo-e is a complex process that requires the highest professionalism at all stages of performance. The final result of the work depended not only on the skill of the artists who drew the sketches, but also on the virtuosity of the engravers and printers. To create a multi-color image, it was necessary to engrave from two to three to eight boards. Printing was done by hand, which made it possible to create a picturesque effect of halftones. Boards were painted by hand, polished, blown with gold or silver powder.

Japanese engraving has become synonymous with sophistication and good taste. At the end of the 19th century, ukiyo-e prints gained popularity all over the world, they were collected by Whistler, Manet, Degas, Goncourt, Zola. In St. Petersburg, the first exhibition of ukiyo-e prints was held in 1898. Rich collections of such prints exist in State Hermitage and the Kunstkamera.

The word "ukiyo" in ancient times denoted one of the Buddhist categories and could be translated as "mortal changeable world." At the end of the seventeenth century Ukiyo began to denote the world of earthly joys and pleasures. Ukiyo-e - paintings Everyday life urban class of the Edo period.

Emerged in the 17th century. in the environment of the third estate, which was gaining strength, less constrained by canons than painting, engraving was the most widespread and accessible form of art for the townspeople. The themes for ukiyo-e prints were often plots of ukiyo-zoshi genre stories, kabuki theater plays, classical and modern poetry.
An artist, a carver and a printer participated in the process of creating an ukiyo-e print. An important role was played by the publisher, who studied the demand and determined the circulation. Often it was he who set the theme of the engraving and influenced the nature of the publication.

The engraving process was as follows. Painter made a contour drawing in ink on thin, transparent paper. Engraver, having pasted the drawing with the front side on a board of cherry, pear or boxwood, he cut out the first printing plate. Then several black-and-white prints were made, on which the artist indicated the intended colors. Cutter produced the required number (sometimes more than thirty) printing plates, each of which corresponded to one color or tone. Printer by talking with artist colors, applied paint of vegetable or mineral origin and hand-printed an engraving on wet rice paper.

The collective method of work of the artist, carver and printer, the narrow specialization of the masters, the workshop organization of the process determined the originality of Japanese woodcuts.

The founder of the direction is considered Moronobu Hisikawa, Kitibe (circa 1618 - around 1694; according to other sources 1625 - around 1694, 1638−1714), Japanese painter and graphic artist. Lived in Edo. Another major representatives of ukiyo-e were Katsushika Hokusai, who is also known as the founder of the landscape genre in Japanese printmaking, Ando Hiroshige(1797−1858) is one of the largest Japanese graphic artists.
Hiroshige was born in Edo in the family of a petty samurai Ando Ganemon. Through early learning of hieroglyphic writing, Tokutaro (the artist's first childhood name) was also well versed in the properties of paper, brush and ink, the main materials of oriental painting.

The first painting "Mount Fuji in the snow", which has survived to this day (Suntory Museum, Tokyo), was painted by the artist at the age of ten. He was fourteen years old when he became a student Toyohiro, founder of the school Utagawa. Hiroshige's early works are based on real events, scenes peeped on the streets.

The second stage of creativity was marked by the appearance of landscape engravings. Hiroshige depicts the first series, Eight Views of Omi, published in 1825, dedicated to the beauty of Lake Biwa, located in the province of Omi, without leaving Edo. The next series "Ten Views of the Eastern Capital", released two years later, is dedicated to hometown artist - Edo.

Then the artist completely focuses his attention on landscapes and series of the katyoga (“flowers and birds”) genre. One of the most famous is the sheet "Sparrows over a snow-covered camellia" from a series of 25 engravings.

In August 1832, the artist walked the entire eastern seaside road - Tokaido. The result of the trip was a large series of landscape engravings, Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road, released by him, which marked the beginning of the flowering of his work.
The next period of creativity Hiroshige largely different from the previous one. He often changes his place of residence, makes repeated, rather long trips around the country, but at the same time does not create large landscape series at all. He devotes most of his time to illustrating books of satirical poetry.

In the last decade of his life, the artist did not part with his favorite themes of Tokaido and Edo landscapes, depicting them on separate engravings, fans, and in books. Hiroshige creates the Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series. In the same years, the artist turns to the image of bizarre rocks, caves, waterfalls, gorges and crossings through them. Hiroshige gave his last series of landscapes, consisting of three triptychs, the old poetic title "Snow, Moon, Flowers". Within three recent years life of Hiroshige, engravings of his own big series- One Hundred Views of Edo.

landscapes Hiroshige along with works Hokusai made an engraving ukiyo-e leading art form of the first half of the nineteenth century.

Many works by Hiroshige and Hokusai, as well as various other authors, can be viewed on the Ukiyoe Japanese Prints website. But be careful - there are 9 galleries of paintings with 500 each. You can stay for a long time!

The etymology of the word "ukiyo" goes back to the Buddhist term for
the frailty of a fast-moving world. The concept of "ukiyo" is generally closely related to
Buddhist worldview. AT medieval literature and aesthetics
the concept meant a vain, mortal, sorrowful world. In the 15th century it received
secular interpretation, it came to be understood as "everyday
reality". In the 17th century, “ukiyo” began to mean the world
entertainment and pleasures that the townspeople could get in the "fun
quarters." It is no coincidence that the main type of fine art
the Edo period, colored woodcuts appeared - mass art,
reproduced and best known.

The history of the development of engraving is dynamic, bright, it clearly manifested all
stages of the formation of the worldview of the new era and their characteristic
features of the perception of reality. While other genres
are going through last bloom, a new genre of landscape appears for Ukiyo-e
fukei-ga. His place in the ukiyo-e print is very prominent. Complex and
multilateral process of space formation in ukiyo-e print
carried out primarily as a result of the interaction of Western cultures
and East.

H and the drawings show the stages of work on the Ukiyo-e engraving.

Unlike European author's engraving - ukiyo-e engraving was
the result of collective creativity. Each of its sections had its own
subtleties and required great specialization. The artist painted in black and white
basis (shita-e) and denoted the colors of individual parts, the carver
transferred the picture to the board, and the printer picked up the colors and transferred
image on paper. For an engraving to become a work of art, it was
a real creative community of these masters is needed. Painter
had to take into account the specifics of the cutter's work, since the quality of the line, in
Ultimately, it depended on the carver. Achieving virtuosity in work,
carvers developed their own handwriting, which largely determined
engraving style. With a large flow of products, the carvers cooperated:
the most experienced cut faces and hairstyles, their assistants cut less
responsible clothing and body lines, and the simplest work was done by
apprentices. The overall color scheme of the engraving largely depended on
printer, since usually the artist followed only the very first
prints. An important role also belonged to the publisher, who studied the demand and
determining circulation. Often it was he who set the theme of the engraving and influenced
nature of the publication, acting as a kind of patron of talented authors.
The engraving authors received orders from publishers, who selected
carvers and printers. The right to publish the engraving belonged to the publisher;
for commercial reasons, individual sheets were sometimes reprinted and
even whole series, often with some changes: it could be omitted
the name of the series, the sheet could have been published in a different format. collective method
works of the artist, carver and printer, narrow specialization of masters,
the workshop organization of the process determined the originality of Japanese woodcuts.

Technically, Japanese prints are letterpress.
The engraving process was as follows. The artist did
contour drawing in ink on thin, transparent paper. The engraver pasted
slightly moistened drawing with the front side on the board of the longitudinal
cut. Cherry wood was usually used for this, sometimes pear wood.
or Japanese boxwood. Trees were cut down in autumn and left to lie all over.
winter, in the spring they were taken out and kept for two years. The surface of the boards
handled very carefully. She should have been so smooth
so that two boards stick together when they touch without glue.

Then the engraver cut a board for a contour print according to the drawing - “the key
board”, with the label “kento” (on which all the other clichés were fitted).
At the same time, the original was destroyed, so so little has survived to this day.
author's drawings, which are, apparently, preliminary
sketches. The lines had to be very thin, no more than a third of the thickness.
drawing lines, as they inevitably expanded during printing. Often
carvers specialized in a particular area,
for example, in the image of people or animals.

When the key
board", the printer made test prints and sent them to the artist, who
approximately outlined the coloring or simply inscribed with hieroglyphs
color names next to each image detail. For every color
a separate board was cut out; a raised label in its upper left corner
provided the ability to accurately match the color with the contour. Highly
the choice of wood was important; boards had to have different qualities in
depending on their purpose: the hardest wood was used for
"key board"; for printing the background, the softest wood species were taken.
When all the boards were ready, the work passed into the hands of the printer. He
made paints using vegetable and mineral pigments
origin. Vegetable paints were prepared on rice glue,
mineral - on animal fat. The work of a printer was not mechanical -
following the general instructions of the artist, he himself selected the tones, regulated
color intensity, so that from his artistic vision, the final
account, the accuracy of the embodiment of the author's intention depended.

Photographs by the printer

The master tries on a template, which is fixed on spikes inserted into holes drilled in the printed board.

Surface preparation - in this place there will be a smooth transition from dark to light.

Applying paint.

Now for the template..

And here is the most important moment...

A slightly damp sheet of paper superimposed on the board, the master smoothed with a special
device in the form of a round pad covered with a dense shell
bamboo sprout (ram). The Japanese practically did not know the printing press
until the 19th century.

This is the baren.

Baren in a firm hand)

The master removes the sheet - the gradient strip turned out!
Now it remains to repeat this operation with other colors))

Paper for engraving had to be soft, hygroscopic, with a smooth
surface and with long strong fibers. She was cut into
established standard; In Japan, the following print formats are accepted
(approximate): oban - 38x25 cm; oban-yokon - 25x38 cm; shikishiban -
20x18 cm; tu-ban - 30x20 cm.

On each sheet there are hieroglyphic inscriptions - explanations of plots,
poems, names of characters and signatures of the creators of the engraving. Signatures are usually
consist of a name and a traditionally added hieroglyph indicating that
what work the signatory did.

In addition to the inscriptions, almost every engraving has several seals. They are
give valuable information about when a particular leaf appeared and who
took part in its creation. As a rule, engravings are found
the following seals: the seal of the artist, placed directly under his
signature or next to it; publisher's seal meet sheets,
differing only in publishing seals. This phenomenon may be
explained by the existing practice of reselling boards by one publisher
to another. In this case, the new owners of the board sometimes cut off the seal
old publishing house and added their seal with the date of publication of the engraving and
censor's seal. Control over engraving was one of the manifestations
comprehensive regulation by the Tokugawa government.
Since 1790, in order to combat luxury and the decline of morality
The government periodically imposed restrictions on the subject matter and
engraving techniques. In addition to the nominal seals of the censors, there were notes
"aratame" ("checked") or "kiwame" ("excellent"), placed after
these seals. Deciphering the seals not only helps to establish
the authenticity of the engraving, but also allows the viewer to feel the living
sheet creation atmosphere.

Ukiyo-e prints were published in a wide variety of forms: and in the form of book
illustrations, art books and single sheets, which are often
united in diptychs, triptychs and series, as well as in the form of scrolls
genre sketches from theatrical life (kabuki zoshi emaki). Them
hindered in tokonoma or hung as a decoration on support poles, appeared
even a special format of narrow and long engravings, which was called hasira-e
(hang on a pole, approximately 65x12 cm).

According to materials: world art. Katsushika Hokusai. Series
engravings "36 Views of Fuji" and "100 Views of Fuji". -SPb: SZKEO LLC
"Crystal", 2006. - 192 p., ill. The compiler of the text is A. A. Ivanova.

As well as materials from the sites http://art.liim.ru and http://woodblock.com

The founder of ukiyo-e is the Japanese painter and graphic artist Hisikawa Moronobu.

Initially, the engravings were black and white - only ink was used, from the beginning of the 18th century, some works were then painted by hand with a brush. In the 18th century, Suzuki Harunobu introduced the multicolor printing technique for making nishiki-e ("brocade pictures").

Ukiyo-e prints were affordable due to their mass production capability. They were intended mainly for city dwellers who could not afford to spend money on paintings. Ukiyo-e is characterized by paintings everyday life consonant with the urban literature of this period. The engravings depicted beautiful geishas ( bijin-ga), massive sumo wrestlers and popular kabuki theater actors ( yakusha-e). Later, landscape engraving became popular.

Story

The ukiyo-e style originated in the wake of urbanization in the late 16th century, which led to the emergence of a class of merchants and small artisans who began to write stories or novels and decorate them with drawings. Such collections were called echon(jap. 絵本 - picture book?). One example of such art is the 1608 edition of Ise-monogatari (The Tale of Ise) by Honami Koetsu. Such books made extensive use of ukiyo-e as illustrations. Later, engravings began to be printed as independent works - kakemono(jap. 掛け物 - a scroll with a picture or saying?) and posters for kabuki theatre.

Process of creation

Cut out printing plate

The creation of ukiyo-e required an artist, a carver and a printer. Ukiyo-e were made in the following way. The artist made a prototype of an engraving on thin paper with ink, the carver pasted this drawing face down on a board of cherry, pear or boxwood and cut out from it the areas on which the paper was white, thus obtaining the first printing form, but destroying the drawing itself. Then several black-and-white prints were made, on which the artist indicated the intended colors. The carver made the required number (sometimes more than thirty) of printing plates, each of which corresponded to one color or tone. The printer, having discussed the color scheme with the artist, applied paint of vegetable or mineral origin to the resulting set of forms and hand-printed an engraving on wet rice paper.

Notable artists

• Hisikawa Moronobu
• Torii Kiyonaga
• Kunitika
• Kunisida
• Toshusai Shyaraku
• Toyokuni

Notes

Links

• Pictures of the elusive world - ukiyo-e - article by Galina Shchedrina on the site Artgalery.ru

Literature

• A. Savelyeva World art. Masters Japanese engraving. - "Crystal", 2007. - 208 p. - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-9603-0033-8
• M. V. Uspensky Japanese engraving. - St. Petersburg: "Aurora", "Amber Tale", 2004. - 64 p. - ("Library of Aurora"). - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-7300-0699-3

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See what "Ukiyo-e" is in other dictionaries:

- (Japanese images of the everyday world) school of Japanese painting and woodcuts of the 17th-19th centuries. Inherited the traditions of genre painting of the 15th and 16th centuries. It is distinguished by democratic plots, consonant with the urban literature of the Edo period (early 17th 2nd half of the 19th centuries). ... ... Big encyclopedic Dictionary

Ukiyo-e- Ukiyo e UKIYO E (Japanese images of the everyday world), a school of Japanese painting and woodcuts (17th-19th centuries). Ukiye e is characterized by portraits of actors and beauties from the “fun districts”, scenes from everyday life, consonant with urban literature ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Japanese images of the everyday world), a trend in Japanese painting and woodcuts of the 17th and 19th centuries, which reflected the democratic trends in art that arose in connection with the rapid development of urban life. Plots from the life of ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Hishikawa Moronobu), Japanese artist, the most famous master of ukiyo e (see UKIIE E) early period. Son famous master decorative fabrics by Hisikawa Kichizaemon. After… … encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1753/1754 1806), Japanese master of color woodcuts and painter. A representative of the ukiyo e school. Portrait and genre exquisitely poetic female images created with the help of a smooth flowing line, the use of mica powder, giving the effect ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1760 1849), Japanese painter and draftsman, master of colored woodcuts. Ukiyo-e representative In the main graphic works (series "36 views of Mount Fuji", 1823 29, "Journey through the waterfalls of various provinces", 1827 33), ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Suzuki Harunobu) (1725?, Edo, now Tokyo on July 8, 1770, ibid.), Japanese artist, master of ukiyo e (see UKIIE E). Little is known about his life (as well as about the lives of most ukiyo-e masters), but his place in history Japanese art clearly defined... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Japanese images of the everyday world), a school of Japanese painting and woodcuts (17th-19th centuries). Ukiye e is characterized by portraits of actors and beauties from cheerful neighborhoods, scenes from everyday life, consonant with urban literature of the beginning of 17 2nd ... ... Modern Encyclopedia

Japan Watches Adventurous Adventure contemporary art already for a century. However, before the country began to open up to foreigners, any creative spirit seems to have left the art of painting, which turned into a handicraft. Only in a few masterpieces of painting something living and human was preserved.

Even then, there was a decline in the narrative edifying "genre" painting, known as ukiyo-e- "image of the mortal world"; this current of popular art found its expression both in painting and in graphics. This genre sought to preserve the traditions of purely Japanese painting ( yamato-e) and soon began to supplant the aristocratic painting of the Tosa school, which was supported by the court, as well as the painting "in the Chinese style" of the Kano school, which enjoyed the patronage of the samurai. Ukiyo-e painting was done on thin porous paper or on silk, usually coarser than the silk of the era. classical painting, which made it possible to create a certain relief of the surface with the help of paints. The latter constituted the essence of the pictorial search, both in terms of perspective effects and in terms of volume. The line showed the flexibility of the brush and gave the silhouettes a natural and lively character. Ukiyo-e seems to have its origins in the Kano school in Kyoto: it was she who introduced murals into fashion at the end of the 16th century. screens, where scenes of everyday life and holidays in Kyoto were played out. The works of Iwas Matabei (1578–1650), inspired by genre painting, form the second component of this school. The beginning of ukiyo-e painting is marked by the activity of four artists of the Kano school. Two of them never turned to prints: Miyagawa Chosun (1683–1753) and Nishikawa Sukenobu (1671–1751), who worked primarily as an illustrator. His refined and evolving style manifested itself initially in the portrait (beauty) genre. Two other artists, Hisikawa Moronobu (1618–1694) and Okumura Masanobu (1686–1764), are known mainly as printmakers, as we shall see.

In the eyes of the Japanese of the 19th century, engraving was not a significant art. It was in France that ukiyo-e prints gained incredible popularity after Felix Braquemont showed Edgar Degas the work of Hokusai in 1856. In 1868, Manet, under the influence of Japanese painting, painted a portrait of Emile Zola; in 1876, Monet painted girls in kimono on a decorative panel; Van Gogh, finally, was extremely passionate about this hitherto unknown art and used Japanese models.

Engraving (hanga), which allows the reproduction of a work on the basis of the first sheet, is a "mass media", and its development since the middle of the 17th century exactly coincides in time with the development of cities where a new form of civilization was born. Of course, the method itself was of Chinese origin and has been known for a long time: in Shosoin there is a tablet carved in the 7th century, which was intended to apply a pattern to the fabric. In 764, Empress Koken (749-759) ordered wood and copper boards to be carved in order to reproduce prayers and Buddhist images. She donated these carved boards to the temples of Nara. This effective method continued to be used, but only for religious purposes. The nobles for whom the art was made could pay well enough for painters and scroll illustrators; at the same time, they appreciated the quality of materials to the same extent as creativity, and despised the cheapness of engraving. The situation changed when merchants and artisans became wealthy and formed a middle class, too poor to buy expensive art, but wealthy enough to have a craving for some luxury. It was they who formed in their own interests a real art market. It was then that the Edo artist Hisikawa Moronobu (1618–1694) came up with original idea- to reproduce with the help of engraving drawings, the plots of which are taken from life itself, which was inherent in the traditional manner of Japanese art ( yamato-e). He sketched his drawings in the famous Yoshiwara pleasure quarter - images of expensive geishas, ​​entertainment companies far from virtue, actors of the nascent kabuki theater - he cut with wire on planks of soft wood. The townspeople liked these pictures, these genre scenes began to be called ukiyo-e ryu, Buddhist concept of "mortal world" ( ukiyo-e) was then often used in relation to houses of rendezvous and entertainment; so, the image of the mortal world - ukiyo-e. There were more plots, artists began to reproduce flowers, birds, and any decorative motifs that customers liked. If Moronobu, despite his influence, did not have direct students, then the situation was different with his follower Torii Kiyonobu (1664–1729), whose school, which specialized in portraying actors and young beauties, still flourishes today.

The first engravings were presented to the public in the form of separate sheets and booklets, which in the era of Moronobu were made by folding double sheets of paper. Japanese printmaking required the cooperation of three artists or craftsmen: an artist, an engraver, a printer. The first prints were made in black and white ( sumi-e or sumi zuri-e) combination; red lead was sometimes used ( tang-e); but since 1720, thanks to some improvements, various and rich shades were used: purple red ( beni-e) replaced red lead, also used yellow, purple and green, began to add glue to Chinese ink (this innovation was due to Okumara Masanobu (1686–1764), which made it possible to give greater depth and volume to the black color delimiting the image. The shiny surface resembled varnishes ( urushi-e).

The first engravings, the colors of which were set with a brush directly on the board, tried to carefully imitate the picture. Everything has changed since 1743, when the practice bene zuri-e, which used Chinese woodcut techniques, gave ukiyo-e independence of style and texture. Now obtained by rolling and successive impressions made possible by the technique of marking, engraving has achieved in twenty years such a luxury of color that it has been compared to brocade ( nishiki-e): ten primary colors made it possible to achieve rich shades and midtones. The work of the famous Suzuki Harunobu (1725–1770 ), who immortalized the fragile appeal of beauties bijin) of its era, became the peak of this cheerful art of printmaking, the subject - memories of pleasant hours spent in pleasant company. Katsukawa Shunso (1726–1792 ) and Ippitsusai Buncho (1725–1794 ), imitating the technique of Harunobu, working in the same direction (butai ogi) created in 1770 a genre that soon became very popular - portraits of actors ( nigao-e). New changes were made later by Kitagawa Utamaro (1753–1806 ): he, abandoning the classical full-length portrait, attached exceptional importance to the image of the face. His discovery was immediately borrowed by Chosusai Sharaku (worked in 1794-1795) and used to depict male theater actors. Although the art of portrait engravers then reached its zenith, it gradually began to disappear. As for ukiyo-e, the genre as a whole was destined to experience a new rise. Fashion for him again spread, to a large extent this was facilitated by novels. They were supposed to be illustrated, so there is an interest in finding new subjects. Any phenomenon could become a plot for engraving, so that in Japan, of course, they could agree with the thought of Sebastian Mercier. At the same time, he noted with annoyance in his "Paris Pictures": "... in our days there is a ridiculous abuse of engraving" (cited by: Adémar J. Original engraving of the 18th century). However, among this so quickly turned out to be banal production, two bright spots appear: the landscapes of Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) and Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858). The merit of Hokusai should be attributed to the fact that he managed to free the engraving from the image of the narrow streets of the city and its inhabitants, opening up much wider horizons. Inspiration came to him (curiously) in 1798 at the sight of a landscape engraved on copper by a Dutch artist. "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" and then "Fifty-three Stations of Tokaido" (1833) by Hiroshige represent the pinnacle of Japanese printmaking. Courage and nervousness of lines, measured frenzy of colors, always coordinated with the colorful contrasts of nature, they sang thousands of views of the sea and fogs, softness countryside and the geometric correctness of the beauty of Mount Fuji. This style, soon perfected, suffocated and lost its sharpness as quickly as it blossomed. From the middle of the 19th century, too large print runs from one board, a general decline in taste and quality made engraving a simple "oleography". Paradoxically, but exactly these mediocre and mannered works that accidentally found their way to the West had a huge impact on impressionism and all modern art.

The history of copper engraving, which glorified Hokusai's talent, is older. Copper engravings were infrequently used during the Nara era for the needs of the Buddhist faith, and then disappeared altogether until the 16th century. Christian missionaries who during this period preached the gospel doctrine in Japan brought with them a relatively large number of boards on pious subjects, as did Buddhist preachers in the 8th century. In 1590, a press was brought from Europe, allowing Kyushu missionaries to print from boards and teach engraving techniques. Western-style printmaking was swept away in the same storm that hit Christianity, and attention was drawn to it only towards the end of the Edo period, at a time when interest in the "Dutch" sciences began to appear again. Siba Kokan (1738–1818) learned the aquaforte technique from the Dutch, which he successfully applied. It was then that a new trend was born, and since then the fashion has demanded that the covers of books translated from other languages ​​be decorated with etchings; the style of these engravings (just return) was largely inspired by the work of Hokusai.

Thus printmaking, a popular genre originally gravitating towards anecdotes, represented one of the last upsurges (albeit a short one) of Japanese art, before it began to be sharply opposed to Western works, messengers of a different mentality, using different methods and other materials.

Engraving is only an insignificant form of expression and, cut off from its Far Eastern roots, becomes incomprehensible. Its quality is based primarily on the quality of the line, engraving does not allow awkwardness and error. This feature turns out to be quite exceptional for all the art of countries that use hieroglyphs: the brush is skillfully dipped in ink and, in accordance with what effect the artist wants to achieve, moves rhythmically, softly and powerfully, but it can neither stop nor return. Unless creativity is completely left to chance, the artist or calligrapher must have a very accurate mental picture of the goal he is striving for, and have sufficient practical skill so that his hand obeys the commands of the spirit. Success was possible only thanks to constant learning from childhood, continuous experience gained over a long time, and the fact that a person disinterestedly, without dreaming of fame, reproduced countless examples - those presented in notebooks intended for learning from models created by artists or simply found in nature itself and the surrounding world.

Paintings in the style of Ukiyo-e (Japanese painting)

History of ukiyo-e

early stage

It refers to the period from the Great Fire of the Meireke years to the Horeki era. Ukiyo-e in its early stages was mainly original drawings and one-color woodcuts (sumizuri-e).

After the middle of the 17th century, the person who made the original drawings for woodcuts was called "hanshita-eshi" (professional draftsman), then came Moronobu Ishikawa, who drew illustrations for picture books and ukiyo-zoshi (popular stories of everyday life in the Edo period). The famous "Mikaeri Bijin zu" ("Painting of a beauty looking back"), his most significant work, is original drawing.

The book "Koshoku ichidai otoko" ("Life loving man”) Saikaku (published in 1682) describes that ukiyo-e was drawn on a folding fan with 12 ribs, and this is the most old literature, in which you can find the word "ukiyo-e".

When the era of Torii Kiyonobu began, a type of sumizuri-e appeared, painted with a brush and ink. For such engravings, red pigments were mainly used, with a yellowish-brown tint (red earth) they were called "tan-e", and with a touch of beni (blush) they were called "beni-e". In addition, sumizuri-e with several colors added to beni-e were called benizuri-e. Since that time, Torii's ukiyo-e school has been closely associated with kabuki (traditional theater with male actors) and is used on kabuki billboards even today.

middle stage

It refers to the period from 1765, when nishiki-e (printing) was born, until around 1806.

In 1765, egoyomi (image calendars) became fashionable, especially among haiku poets, and egoyomi exchange evenings began to be organized. To meet demand, Harunobu Suzuki and others developed "azuma-nishiki" printed in multiple colors, and ukiyo-e culture came into full bloom. As for the factors allowing multi-color printing, it was pointed out that "kento" (registration marks) were introduced to mark points for overprinting, and thick, high-quality Japanese paper appeared that could withstand multi-color printing. Paper made from kozo (paper broussonette), such as etizen-hosogami (heavy Japanese paper of excellent quality from the province of Echizen), iyo-masagami, nisami-utigami, etc. was used. In addition, an important role was played economic development, since a division of labor was introduced for complex processes between shitaeshi (ukiyo-e artists), horishi (engravers) and surishi (printers).

After Harunobu Suzuki's death, the bijinga's imagery began to change from androgynous, doll-like to realistic.

During the An'ei era of Shigemasa, Kitao was popular for its bijinga. Realistic delineation was also added to yakusha-e, and Shunsho Katsukawa painted boring nigao-e (portraits).

In addition, Utamaro Kitagawa Utamaro appeared, who painted many okubi-e (bust portraits), which were a type of bijinga with a subtle, graceful, and pleasing manner.

In 1790, the "Aratame-in" approval system was established and various restrictions were placed on prints.

In 1795, a hanmoto (publisher) named Juzaburō Tsutai, whose assets were confiscated for his violation of the ban, presented the Toshūsai to Shyaraku as a measure of revival. Although he gained public attention with his uniquely exaggerated yakusha-e, his popularity created a bad impression due to the over exaggeration of his features, and he was defeated by Toyokuni Utagawa's "Yakusha butai no sugatae" ("Images of Actors on Stage") series, which was extremely popular.

Subsequently, the largest school of esi ukiyo-e artists, the Utagawa school, consisting of students of Toyokuni, began to emerge.

late stage

It refers to the period from 1807 to about 1858.

After the death of Utamaro Kitagawa, the mainstream of bijing turned to sensual, sexual beauty and attractiveness such as Keisai Eisen portrayed.

Hokusai Katsushika, one of Shunsho Katsukawa's students, drew "Fugaku sanju rokkei" ("Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji") against the background of the flourishing of travel, which led to the printing of "Tokaido Gojusan-tsugi" ("Fifty-three Stations of Tokaido") by Hiroshige Utagawa . Thanks to these two artists, meiso-e (landscape drawing) in the ukiyo-e genre was developed.

In the yakusha-e genre, Kunisada Utagawa, as the successor of his teacher Toyokuni Utagawa, drew strong yakusha-e.

In kusazoshi, musha-e began to be drawn by Kuniyoshi Utagawa and others, along with the popularity of fantasy tales.

At that time, Kuniyoshi Utagawa's "Suikoden" ("Water Shore") series gained popularity, and the "Suikoden boom" took place.

Edo sunako saisenki, published in 1853, described "Toyokuni Nigao (nigao-e), Kuniyoshi Musha (musha-e), and Hiroshige Meisho (meiso-e)."

final stage

It refers to the period from 1859 to about 1912. Yokohama-e (Yokohama ukiyo-e) became fashionable among people who were inspired by the kurofune ("black ships" of Commodore Matthew Perry) and became interested in Western cultures. After the Meiji Restoration, kaika-e (enlightenment paintings) depicting rare Western architecture and railways, replaced Yokohama-e.

While in Japan, which was destroyed by the Meiji Restoration, grotesque things appeared in kabuki and other entertainment performances, Yoshiiku Ochiai and Yoshitoshi Tsukioka, who were students of Kuniyoshi Utagawa, painted "Eimei nijuhachishuku", which depicted bloody scenes and were called muzan -e, as well as illustrations for articles in nishikie-shimbun.

Yoshitoshi Tsukioka, with his exquisite drawings based on sketches, created not only muzan-e, but also many rekishiga ( historical paintings) and fuzokuga and became known as " last artist ukiyo-e." Because he strongly encouraged his students to explore other genres of visual arts, many students achieved greatness as illustrators and Japanese style painters, such as Kiyokata Kaburaki; thus, the ukiyo-e tradition passed into other genres.

In addition, some artists of the Kano school began to draw ukiyo-e, including Kyosai Kawatabe.

Kiyoshika Kobayashi created new landscape drawings called kosenga that did not use profile lines.

Yshifuji Utagawa used ukiyo-e on omocha-e, now called newspaper supplements, and due to the popularity of the idea, played an active role as an esi artist specializing in otocha-e. He was even called "Omocha Yoshifuji".

Ukiyo-e gradually decreased, losing popularity in newspapers, photographs, new technologies such as lithography, etc. Ukiyo-e artists showed their ingenuity regarding photographs, mostly in vain, and were forced to become illustrators, etc. History The ukiyo-e that lasted from the Edo period almost ended with the last print being senso-e depicting the Sino-Japanese War.

From the Taishō period to the Showa period, Hasui Kawase and others set out to revive ukiyo-e with new woodcuts, and also left behind many works that used ukiyo-e multicolor printing technology.

Themes and types of ukiyo-e

Ukiyo-e depicts the everyday life of common people

Ukiyo-e originally appeared as paintings depicting the customs and mores of everyday life "ukiyo". Landscapes, portraits of kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers and yujo (prostitutes) were depicted. Many fall under the category of modern comics and contain caricature elements. Traditional themes, which were to be the material for Chinese painting and yamato-e paintings, sometimes converted to ukiyo-e.

As for shunga (erotic art) depicting love scenes, they were painted by the most famous esi artists. Shunga was often sold in package deals. Since their selling prices were high, a lot of money was spent on creation and complex production methods were used. While having an element of derision (ridicule) of actual sex culture, they were not necessarily sensational, and it was noted that they should not be viewed as pornography alone.

Types of ukiyo-e

Bijinga: Drawings depicting young women.

Kanban muzume (poster girls) and yujo, which were popular at the time, were depicted.

Yakushae: Drawings with the image popular actors kabuki, etc.

Some of them looked like clichés and some served as tirasi (leaflets).

Caricature: Comically drawn pictures.

Toba-e included. There were humorous scenes and personifications. They kept the caricature elements in check, but consistently emphasized the entertaining aspect.

Tobae: Cartoons depicting human characters With long arms and feet. They came from the name of Toba Sojo (leading figure). comics on early stage sometimes referred to in this way.

Comics: Etehon (artist's guide).

Drawings depicting the entire universe. They were different from modern comics. Hokusai's manga (Hokusai's sketches) were a case in point.

Shunga: Drawings depicting sex scenes and other sensual things.

There were small prints with sex toys and personalized genitals, etc. They were so common in the countryside that nishiki-e actually meant shunga. They could be part of the dowry.

Meishoe: Drawings depicting famous landscapes.

Drawings were allowed to the common people of the period, who could not travel freely to see the coveted famous sights. They have also been used as travel brochures.

Mushae: Drawings depicting the famous samurai, appearing in legends, fantasy tales and stories.

They came into vogue, especially with the boom in fantasy stories. Bakufu (the Japanese feudal government, headed by the shogun) forbade depicting Nobunaga Oda and warriors after him.

Rekishiga: Drawings depicting famous historical scenes.

After the Meiji Restoration, there were works depicting last emperors in order to promote the legitimacy of the imperial family.

Omochae: Drawings for children.

These included pieces to be pasted onto sugoroku (Japanese backgammon) and menko (Japanese-style weaving), miniatures of popular ukiyo-e, fashionable paper dolls, pieces called zukushi-e under which many ghosts, warriors, and etc. Many ideas have been adopted for use in children's toys.

Mitate-e: Parodies of classical works.

Sumou-e (Sumoue): Drawings depicting sumo. Among them were stereotypical drawings representing sumo wrestlers at the time.

Harimadze-e: Works in which several images were printed on one sheet of paper.

Blue-e: The woodcut was published as a result of the death of a celebrity.

Some of them were for famous esi artists.

Kodomo-e: Drawings depicting children during the game.

Nagasaki-e: Drawings depicting foreign cultures seen in Nagasaki. Yokohama-e: Drawings filled with the exotic atmosphere of Yokohama.

Namazu-e: Drawings that appeared after the Great Ansei earthquakes.

According to popular superstition, namaz (som) brings earthquakes.

Noso-e: Amulet to ward off smallpox.

Uchiwa-e: Drawings that were glued to the fans.

Ukiyo-e woodcut production method

People who painted ukiyo-e were called ukiyo-e artists or eshi artists (edakumi [artist]). The people who carved the drawings of ukiyo-e artists on wooden plates were the horishi (choko [carvers]), and the people who painted the wooden plates and printed were the surishi (printers). Although the process of creating ukiyo-e was a collaborative effort, usually only the names of the eshi artists were remembered. At least four parties were required, including an additional party as a buyer.

"Kento" (modern registration marks [print]) were attached to check paper position and prevent color shifting in multi-color printing. Some have speculated that they were invented by a wholesaler for the publication of Kichiemon Uemura in 1744, but others have claimed that they were used by a surishi named Kinroku in 1765. It is also said that they were invented by Gennai Hiraga, who was related to Harunobu Suzuki. Phrases such as "Kento wo tsukeru" (to choose as a target), "Kento chigai" (inaccurate), "Kentou hazure" (off-registration), which are used even today, come from this "Kento".

Ukiyo-e influence

Recognition and influence of ukiyo-e in the world

In the Meiji era or later, ukiyo-e received little attention in Japan, and many of the works were taken out of the country. Consequently, there has been no legitimate, systematic, and academic research on ukiyo-e as a work of fine art, and opinions based on various sources of knowledge have been partly and constantly repeated only by individual collectors and researchers.

Moreover, as usual, fakes of many famous works, including Harunobu Suzuki, Utamaro Kitagawa, and others common since Edo.

On the other hand, in Western countries, ukiyo-e was discovered and highly appreciated by the great masters of the Impressionist school, whose works were influenced by ukiyo-e, even reproductions of them were created in oil paintings. There appear to be at least 200,000 or more ukiyo-e items in storage at 20 or more of the most prestigious Western museums; in addition, various individuals own private collections, thus indicating that ukiyo-e is the only foreign art form that is collected in such large quantities. Many museums hold over 10,000 ukiyo-e items, such as the Museum fine arts in Boston - 50,000 items, State Museum fine arts them. A. S. Pushkin with 30,000 items, etc.

Ukiyo-e is the world's only brightly colored woodcut; in the western fine arts there is no such genre that is considered to contribute to its high appreciation. Among the many scattered ukiyo-e, there were a large number of works with relatively simple designs, including Utamaro, and ukiyo-e with richly colored (catchy) complex designs were surprisingly few.

Since ukiyo-e is sold domestically in chain stores that have spread abroad, it is hoped that in the future ukiyo-e will be regarded as a rare work of art in the world, so that this high appreciation of this art form is not limited to the West.

It is also valuable that ukiyo-e is the only material in the world that depicts different lives ordinary people during the Middle Ages.

According to documents from the Meiji period, there were about 2,000 eshi artists before this time, assuming that unknown artists were included. Since 100 to 200 works were printed at the time, there was a huge amount of ukiyo-e in the cities, and unlike any other place in the world, high-quality artwork was very popular among the common people.

Influence from abroad

Along with the influence of ukiyo-e on Japaneseism in Western countries, it also received influence from abroad. The synthetic pigment Prussian blue ("bero" for Berlin), which comes from Germany, produces a vibrant color and was used by Hokusai Katsushika et al. Western perspective and shading techniques were also adopted.

Impact on foreign countries

In 1865 french artist Bracquemont showed his friends the Hokusai Manga that was on the wrapping paper of the pottery, and it ended up having a great influence on the Impressionists. This caused a situation in Europe where ukiyo-e works were sold at high prices, which were unimaginable in Japan at that time, since in Japan itself ukiyo-e was the entertainment of ordinary people, and used and damaged works were sold at prices so low, that they were used as packaging material for sea cargo.

Ukiyo-e even influenced classical music, since Claude Debussy was inspired by Kanagawa oki nami ura (The Great Wave off Kanagawa) Hokusai and wrote "La Mer" ("The Sea") (the engraving was used on the cover of the orchestral score published in 1905, and there is a photograph in which the engraving can be identified as a study decoration).

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